Binge TV Watching: Realizations

June 2, 2014

There is something about binge watching a show that makes you either realize how ridiculous it is or how much of a classic show it is. Since school has ended, I have been binge watching multiple shows. Part of the reason is because once we left the United States I was switched over to UK Netflix. There were different shows on there than I had been watching. Once we headed off to Israel, Hulu and Netflix both became unavailable so I turned to Amazon.

Thanks to Amazon Prime, I can buy shows and watch them instantly. It won’t really help once I am on our long plane ride home, but we have British Air taking us home and they had A LOT of choices to watch on the way to Israel. Some of my discoveries from binge watching TV shows have been mind blowing, not so surprising and then a little upsetting. Occasionally, it is a weird combination of all three of these, that’s a really tough thing to figure out.

Here are some things I have discovered:

1) “Greek” has the most predictable story line but the characters are absolutely fabulous. I still fall in love and root for the same people, but I am not shocked when a couple breaks up or ends up with one another. That happens a lot in the show. I am excited to get to the end of the series once I am back in the US, I miss Casey, Ashleigh, Cappy, Evan and the rest of the “Greek” crew. It is also, totally unrealistic. Granted, I am coming from a point of view where Greek life consists of run down basements along South Street in Waltham, but it still seems extreme.

2) “Make It Or Break It” has some very annoying characters. The drama and competiveness isn’t surprising and as soon as I started watching it again I remember feeling the same way when it was still on TV. The characters seem forced, the story line is way under developed, and their hatred for anyone who isn’t them is a little ridiculous. Now, this isn’t to say it isn’t entertaining. It is QUITE entertaining.

3) Another show that I should honestly not even be putting time into is “The Bachelorette”, the current season and old seasons. I started back at Ali’s season and I’m watching Andi’s season at the same time. Every time I watch “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” I cringe. Nothing on the show seems real except the drama between the people living in the house. When Ali gives Justin a piece of her mind because he was on the show for the wrong reasons I was laughing. When she called him out in front of the other six guys and I saw their reaction, I lost it. I told you, I care a little too much about this show. I think the guys are the pull to keep watching.

4) Shows like “Bakery Boss”, “Cake Boss”, “Hell’s Kitchen”, “Top Chef”, and “Master Chef” are the best shows to binge watch. They never get old because nothing is ever the same. On “Top Chef” and “Master Chef” the dishes they make always look different and never fail to amaze me. The judges also keep it spicy and new every episode. Tom is my favorite judge of all time except maybe for Gordon Ramsey. He might be the best television host/judge ever. I don’t know if it’s the accent or the mood of his shows, but they are always entertaining and I can re-watch them constantly. I like knowing what the challenges are and seeing how different contestants do each season. Buddy is fantastic. “Cake Boss” and “Bakery Boss” are two of those cooking and food related shows I will never get tired of. His kids are the cutest things on the planet and he is actually nice to the people he comes to help out.

I might be giving a little too much to these TV shows, but by the end of the nights on our trip, all I want to do is crawl into bed and watch TV. It’s not my fault Israel has one or two good English stations. I am very much a fan of binge watching, I have been for a long time. I went through “Psych” in a month during finals last year, “HIMYM” in two months during midterms last year and “Friday Night Lights” in two weeks during break.

There is something about becoming invested in a show and learning to love the characters so much that you find one you root for and one you absolutely hate. “One Tree Hill” is a great show to do that with if you haven’t seen it yet, that is all I am going to say. It doesn’t make it easy though watching all these shows. When I am meeting someone and they ask what TV shows do I watch, I usually cut my list so I look like I have some sort of life outside of my computer or TV.

I know it probably isn’t a bad thing to have so many shows I like, but keeping up with as many as I do takes a strain on me – let me explain before you think I sound totally insane. It will hit a point where I am so behind on a show that it either gets dropped or becomes the most important thing in the world. That usually makes my homework get put to the side or I have to scramble to write a paper. I try to multi-task and write while I watch but we all know how well that works out. Not well at all.

It helps that shows are ending and there are only so many times you can re-watch entire series of shows, especially if they just ended. Maybe in a year I will start back up, who knows though? It will depend on how much downtime I have and where my life has gone. I can’t imagine lesson planning and watching TV is an easy thing to do at the same time.

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About Me

I am a teacher in Massachusetts and a Dog Mom. I have a masters and license as a reading specialist from Lesley in Cambridge, MA this spring. My life revolves around my family and friends. I make the best of every situation and am learning to put myself into uncomfortable ones. Take a look into my life and the lessons I have learned from it.
Peace, Love and Happiness <3